The Element of Surprise
by Wispy Willow
Summary: A surprising stop for ice cream leads to a day of shocks and surprises on the job and off for Sam and Andy. How does this day end for them? Just some frivolous musings that waft between both of their points of view. Picks up from Season 3 Episode 3 with flashbacks to Episode 7 Season 1. DISCLAMER: I do not own Rookie Blue in any way shape or form.


"Stop."

"Please stop the car."

"Sam. Stop."

She clutched his arm frantically.

"What? What? What?" Sam reacted puzzled.

He literally screeched to a halt, confused as he watched her slip on her sandals and dash out the truck. Christ she was one unpredictable surprise after another!

Minutes later she was on the street heading straight for the ice cream truck surrounded by a cluster of kids in the park. He should have known!

She turned walking backwards. There was a graceful dance-like flow about her as she moved. Laughter bubbled from her.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want? It's not even 10am in the morning!" He sounded so practical and cynical.

"So," she replied undeterred. "What's your point?"

"It's summer. It's hot." She flapped her arms and turned to run to the ice cream truck. He watched her with a smitten glimmer in his eyes, his mouth curled into a silly smile.

This wasn't like him. It wasn't like him at all to be so completely head over heels like this. It wasn't like him to be so wrapped up in someone.

He still couldn't believe he was actually with her. There had been so many detours, swerves and misdirections in their journey to this point. It was astounding they were here at all.

His mind drifted to that fateful night two summers ago.

It had been suffocating, hot, muggy and humid that day. The power was out in the city.

It was the day that he stopped lying to himself about her, for a while anyway. It was the day he experienced a sampling of the wild fire raging between them, for a moment at least.

It was also the day Andy killed someone on the job.

He had said and done what he could to comfort her, but she had looked at him with empty eyes and hollowness in her soul. He told her to call him if she needed to talk and left her to her turmoil. He was sure Callaghan would help her. He was solid like a rock after all.

When he got back home, the darkness and strange quiet, seeped into his being creating a mood of gloom and loneliness. He lit some candles and watched the flickering orange flames as _they_ at least fabricated some softness into the starkness.

Then came that knock at his door. Adrenalin rushing he clambered down the stairs, guided only by a flashlight. Andy stood on his doorstep. She looked even more forlorn and confused than when he left her at the precinct.

Her moist amber eyes implored him with pain, uncertainty, need and torment.

She represented the pure element of surprise. Moments later she brashly pushed him against the wall. She literally crashed into him, pounding her soft lips against his, demanding and reckless.

She wanted and needed him to make this better for her. She wanted him to take the pain away and help her forget. Why she had turned to him and not Callaghan, he couldn't tell.

He reached for her instinctively and they became magnetically bound in those crazed moments. They fueled passion with passion, physically entangled, bodies at one, minds stifling alarm bells, hearts finding a real, raw kind of solace.

He blindly ushered her inside, his lips locked with hers. He closed the door on the outside world, while drawing her into his calm, candlelit abode.

It was his first time pressed against her perfect body. She felt even more amazing than he imagined. It was electric between them and their crackling chemistry sparked a vibrant new brilliance to the darkness.

Those crazy moments were punctuated with frantic hands, breathless gasps and hungry mouths as they had fumbled and staggered to the bedroom like drunken love-crazed teenagers.

With the snap in sexual tension between them, they teetered dangerously on the edge of obliterating rules and moral codes. They were lost to the madness, to the moment, to the rapture. They were too intrigued by their delectable physical and emotional cravings to enact any common sense.

She tugged his shirt off. He did the same in between urgent, hasty kisses that demanded more and more with every passing second. He hoisted her to his hips and dropped her softly on the bed, covering her with his solid, firm body.

His mouth came back to hers with a magical ignition of chemistry. He lavishly nuzzled, kissed and nibbled her neck. She responded willfully, ardently, intuitively. Nothing else mattered but the two of them, entwined together like that in those few dreamy and stolen moments.

The lights and power came on suddenly. It gushed brutally in, screaming harsh realities and implementing exacting limitations.

He tried to soften the sudden intrusion and reclaim the magic by lowering the bright beams, bathing the room in quiet and intimate candle light again.

But really before he even left the room to turn off some appliances, she had fled. She had slipped through his fingers, like elusive water droplets. When he returned a minute later, she was absently pulling her shirt back on, freeing her hair at the back. She gave him a fawn-like look of troubled uncertainty and then she ran.

She escaped into the sticky, hot night, furtively, without a plan or a practical thought in her mind. She did the only thing she knew how at that moment. She ran!

_ "I got this for us,"_ Andy's cheerfully teasing voice at his car window, broke into his thoughts, interrupting his vivid memories of that crazy night two summers ago.

"Don't just sit there. It's starting to melt." She pulled the chocolate sundae out of his reach teasingly, as she stepped away from his car door.

He shrugged and chuckled as he got out the truck. It had been anything but smooth sailing for them since that summer. Hell no. It had been a winding, convoluted path of tension, drama, lust and danger. Yet it had all unravelled to _this_ – this togetherness!

Today it was Andy carefree and lighthearted resting her bare feet on his dash as the wind swished through her hair and her giggles permeated the air. It was her indulging in her cravings for a ridiculously cold and sweet treat before ten o clock in the morning!

He smiled revealing his dimples, shaking his head and following her to the park. "Why do we have to share?" He asked in comical objection, as she flopped onto the grass.

Andy tugged playfully at his hand till he dropped to the ground next to her. She immediately swivelled closer, pulling her legs under her and pressing into his shoulder. He liked the way it felt.

"It's not the first time you've shared ice cream Sam." She quipped without looking at him.

He turned and made eye contact. Their glance communicated memories of something he had told her months ago while undercover. She hardly ever forgot anything, and it had been an important revelation.

"I only have one of these though, sorry," she said dangling the plastic spoon in front of him before sinking it into the chocolate covered ice cream. He smiled as he watched her lick the ice cream till the spoon was clean. She looked mischievously satisfied like an adorable trouble-seeking kitten.

She dug in again heaping the spoon with more than it could hold. "Have some," she giggled holding the spoon out to him.

He clutched her wrist gently and steered the spoon to his mouth, swallowing it whole. The frostiness froze his mouth and the sweet richness made his tongue tingle.

"Everyone likes ice cream," she said smiling at him, releasing her wrist to grab more of the treat. She raised an eyebrow as she lifted the spoon and devoured its contents.

God she was a full package, and he was completely besotted with her. The cuteness in her right now was driving him a little crazier by the minute.

Just everything about her in this carefree moment was making him fall still a little deeper for her. It stoked the kid in him and brought out something lighthearted and playful. Something he didn't want to lose or let go of.

Fun that was it! She was making him have fun, spontaneous, addictive, can't-get-enough-of-it fun. It was part of the magic spell she cast. Every day she added just a little bit of something new to keep him completely intrigued by her.

He took the spoon from her and helped himself to more, smirking at her as he did so.

It came to this. She made him happy. Very happy and that was alarming. This was pure, sweet, delectable must-have happiness. He wanted to bottle it and store it, just in case they stopped actually fabricating it between them.

This _was_ the fun. This _was_ the happiness he knew to his core that he truly, really wanted.

It was her falling asleep on top of him while they watched TV. It was him running his hands through her hair, just because he liked the feel of it.

It was the incredible and intense way they made love to each other.

It was the way he sank himself into her sweetness and goodness, devouring her like some heaven sent nectar. He seemed to constantly crave more, while she eagerly gave more and more. God she was addictive.

It was moments like this. It was the simple, uncomplicated, unpredictable stuff with her. It was how she made him feel so energized and youthful.

She was the ultimate element of surprise in his life. Even before they got together he never knew what was coming next with her, or from what direction it was coming. Only now she was really with him, everything just got outlandishly magnified.

It was a tad idealistic to muse that _their_ relationship could drift from delectable sex to delicious ice cream dripping with only fun stuff in between. Holy crap the complexity in both of them was enough to send their boat spiralling dangerously out of control.

He didn't want to even contemplate how his troubled past and fenced in way of dealing with things would clash with her far more open minded approach. Undoubtedly their different methods would be… ah… challenging.

What about her tendency to panic and run when things confused and overwhelmed her?

Her fleeing ways gnawed at him a little too incessantly. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was almost as though he knew that she wasn't yet done with running.

He relished in her silvery laughter and lilting lightheartedness as they finished off the sundae between them. She was so damn infectious, vibrant and enticing – so full of surprises. He was pretty convinced he would do just about anything for her. Anything.

He cocked his head and chuckled again as he watched her scrape the container. She had practically devoured the whole thing herself, sparing him just a few spoons really.

"That was_ so_ good," she enthused as she licked her fingers. He looked at her for a moment, his eyes burning into her.

She had said those same words to him last night too. He saw her blush and look away. For all her boldness and brashness, he knew his remarks and looks still unnerved her sometimes.

"You have chocolate on your chin," he said softly.

"Ha. I don't believe you," she scoffed, playfully jabbing his shoulder with hers.

"Okay," he shrugged standing up. He held out his hand and pulled her up to stand right before him.

"Was that the sugar fix you needed for a good solid shift on the job?" He asked teasingly as they began to walk to the truck.

"I already had everything I needed. This was just nice," she answered with a little whoop in her voice as she walked next to him. He turned and met her bold, sparkling eyes.

He felt kind of shy and impish so he looked away again very quickly. God was she really saying all she needed was him!

"Where," she asked as she arrived at the passenger door.

"Come again," he asked looking at her quizzically from across the hood of the vehicle.

"Where is the chocolate exactly?" She started to rub her fingers across her chin.

"Oh so you believe me now?" He mocked as he slowly started to walk around the truck. He came to her side with a smirk on his face.

She sighed impatiently then. "Okay Sam is it there some chocolate or not?" she frowned, frustration starting to build in her eyes

She moved to open her door, sighing in exasperation. She would just check it out in the mirror inside.

Sam gently grabbed her arm and pulled her back, closing the door and pressing her against it.

"It's right here," he whispered touching her chin with the tip of his finger. He lingered for a while, his eyes burning sensationally into hers.

It jarred her all over. Holy Crap, would he always have this way of making her come undone just by looking at her like that? Would he make her melt any time he used that tone in his voice?

"Okay," she whispered breathless, although she had no reason to be out of breath.

"Andy," he said looking into her eyes for a moment, before his glance drifted to her tempting lips. He pressed against her and bumped her nose with his. Then he lowered his lips to the spot of chocolate on her chin and licked it. She giggled and gasped.

He brought his lips softly and quietly to hers for a short but steamy kiss.

"It's gone," he quipped moving away and opening the door for her to get in his truck.

He moved away from her and to his side of the truck like quicksilver lightning then. That brief moment of intimacy astonishing even himself.

_Sam saw the fawn like look of fear and horror in her face_ as she led Dov back to the police cruiser. 'Hold it together Andy,' he willed her with his eyes.

She looked unsure and insecure. All the humour and fun from earlier today was drained from her face. He understood the turmoil likely pulsing through her mind right now.

He was the first senior officer on the scene and as such he needed to take command. At least until the D's and SIU arrived.

Things were already unravelling fast. There was going to be a plethora of red tape and fallout that would ensue for Dov, and likely the entire 15th Division. Even with her lack of experience she had to know that too, of course.

Her shooting incident had been pretty open and shut. This situation here was more complex and twisted, he could tell already. He gasped realizing that had it been Andy embroiled in this, his blood would be boiling and his protective instincts blanketing her in a cocoon.

Even now with Epstein, it was hard to differentiate himself. He felt compelled to shield and protect one of his own.

He glanced at Andy again. She had shuffled Epstein into a cruiser. She looked calm, but he could still read the uncertainty on her face. His own mind was racing at a million miles an hour. They needed to make this an open and shut case for Epstein, and quickly.

_Sam watched her speechless and a little astounded_. Was that really McNally being intimidating with the store keeper?

She surprised him with her verve and spunk. The clerk hadn't been expecting this blatant passive aggressiveness from her. It was impressive and effective.

He felt a little smug; assuming some of his unconventional, rule bending methods had rubbed off on her. She used them well. She looked sharp, in control and sure of herself.

He watched her surprised and curious, as she positioned herself to hover over the store keeper. This new brashness and confidence came to her honestly and was driven by determination. He liked what he was seeing in her. He liked it a lot.

_Finally this long and brutal day was done_. Epstein was vindicated and exonerated. He may feel relieved for that, but he would still have to carry the cruel reality that he had taken someone's life today. Sam doubted one ever recovered completely from that. Andy certainly hadn't.

Who would have thought that a day that started so innocently with ice cream and laughter would end with tension ramped up to these levels? But there again, that was the nature of their jobs.

He waited for her outside the locker rooms with his shoulder resting against the wall.

He felt like he had waited for her for years, and that he would never stop waiting if it came down to that. He hoped she didn't want to head to _The Penny_ tonight. He really needed to decompress with her alone.

He was struck by just what a sight for sore eyes she was, as she stepped out the locker room. Yet her expression was troubled again. He cringed inside as she told him how perhaps he was right to expect nothing but the worst to avoid disappointment.

Christ he didn't want this cynicism and wayward attitude to rub off on her. Not that. Besides even though he had said words to that effect earlier today, intrinsically he knew he didn't wholeheartedly subscribe to this notion.

He tried to reassure her, reiterating how Dov owed so much to her right now because of her unwavering belief in him. She nodded half-heartedly.

"So are you coming over?" He asked then quietly looking away, trying to sound casual. He didn't want her to see the crazy need he had in his eyes.

She giggled. It rejuvenated him. "That's optimism," she jeered.

She was full of surprises.

"No, no that's experience," he countered, leaning closer and reaching for her hand. She giggled again as she clutched on to his fingers.

It was the first time he had ever done this in the Barn, with colleagues and co-workers all around. It was more than a little surprising, but she could get used to it and fast.

It was quite bold for Sam really. She wanted to say something but decided against it. She couldn't bear it if he pulled his hand away because she drew his attention to it.

His fingers caressed her hand while they walked to his truck. It felt good. She wondered if he too was recalling those silly fateful words he had emitted what seemed aeons ago.

What was it _exactly _he had said? Something about not being her boyfriend and not holding her hand.

"Ha," she muttered under her breath.

_They stepped into his home._ He dumped his backpack down. She did the same with her duffel bag, and inhaled the woody, minty scent of his home.

She took a brief glimpse at the sparse furnishings. It was so different from her place, but she found it oddly comforting and welcoming every time she went there.

There was a definite mark of masculine simplicity about the place, a little disorganized but not overly so. It was interesting, practical, eclectic, boyish and sophisticated. Actually it was pretty much like Sam himself.

They looked at each other silently for a moment feeling the electricity surging about them. The way they looked at each other right now was strikingly similar to that night two years ago.

He broke the current suddenly and surprisingly. "Want something to eat?" He asked moving away from her. "I'm pretty starving." He continued, drifting into the kitchen and opening the fridge.

She was still reeling from how it felt just moments before when his eyes practically burned her into the spot.

She followed him and paused at the counter top.

"Sam," she said softly. "Can dinner wait?"

He closed the fridge door and caught the glint of her mischievous smile as she began walking towards him while kicking her sandals off.

"You know I'm really not that hungry after all." His voice was pure enticement and his eyes were a mysterious promise.

He closed the gap between them in seconds, his arm encircling her waist and pulling her flush against him. He dipped his face and pressed his lips to hers, without giving her a moment to catch her breath from his sudden movement. Within seconds his tongue probed her lips, demanding entry.

She gave it willingly, allowing him to lazily explore her mouth. One of his hands slowly meandered up her rib cage, till he closed it softly over her breast. She thought she heard him groan as her nipple hardened under his heated palm

She pulled away softly, feeling breathless. "Sam," she said taking gulps of fresh air, but he was otherwise distracted burying his head in her neck and tickling her tummy as his fingers scrapped against the hem of her shirt, coaxing her to take it off.

Her arms went around his neck and she could barely focus on anything but this incredible sensation of having him all to herself again. It was quite remarkable really when she thought of their strange and twisted path to this point.

She stiffened at the thought at how many times they had elusively sailed past each other. At how what they had managed to create now had so many times seemed impossible.

He felt her hesitation and paused to look in her eyes. She smiled at him before using her hands to guide his face hurriedly back to hers.

They made it up the staircase clinging to one another, mouths involved in a sensual slow dance of fantasy, their movements deliberate, unrushed and certain.

Unlike that startling time two years ago, there was nothing chasing them down. There was no inner tyrant clawing away at her. She wasn't trying to bury her woes in physical gratification. He wasn't acting on instinct or obliterating painful truths.

There was no guilty pang or sense of angst driving them. Now it felt spectacularly guiltless, liberating and right.

Andy felt Sam's hot breath on her neck as they stumbled into the bedroom. She sifted her hand through his dark hair, amazed at how every time he touched her it felt brilliantly familiar, yet was as heart stopping as their very first time together. That was it, there was _always_ this element of surprise between them.

He muffled something into her ear, before lifting her at the waist and planting her on his feet, walking further into the room. He pulled his head back and looked deeply into her eyes for a moment.

Sam wasn't so much into describing his feelings, but he conveyed much with his eyes and expression. It always surprised her just how much emotion and desire played on his face in moments like these.

They fell together on his bed and a giggle escaped her. But then her eyes caught his again and her laughter faded.

She leaned upward grabbing at his shirt before pulling it off effortlessly. His neck became the focus of her attention next as she brought her lips to just above his Adam's apple and moved her feathery soft mouth across his tense muscles till she reached his cheek.

With a sense of satisfaction she heard him grunt something she couldn't quite understand.

His hands began trickling all over her body pulling the clothing that hindered his ministrations gently away. Their breathing became rushed and in between gulping for air, their lips, hands, legs and mouths remained tangled together.

Sometime later they lay crumpled in an exhausted entangled heap. She rested her head on his sweaty shoulder, breathing softly, while listening to his heart pumping in his chest.

His hands ran through her hair in a wonderfully familiar way, she didn't want him to stop touching her ever. Her stomach growled then and she pulled the sheets over her eyes in faked embarrassment. "You know I'm actually starving," she said.

She heard him chuckle as he flipped the comforter off of them and leaped from the bed. A new coldness hit her naked body and she scrambled to cover herself again. She hugged the sheets to her bare shoulders, and watched him with concerted interest as he tugged his clothes on.

He smiled at her with hazy confidence. "I'll get something started. You can take your time." He kissed her lips, pressed his nose to hers quickly and then was gone in a flash.

This sense of comfort and belonging surprised and alarmed her. It wasn't supposed to be this natural and easy, at least not with Sam. It was supposed to be a whole lot more complicated and she knew it. Crap something was going to careen right into them head on surely.

She pushed the nagging thoughts to the back of her mind as she listened to him rustling around in his kitchen downstairs. Pots banging together, water turned on, the gas stove being lit. It added to that sense of comfort to know it was just her and Sam alone here, figuring it out one step at a time.

She swept her legs off the bed, and picked up her discarded clothing dressing slowly. Before she put her shirt on, she grappled through his closet and brought out an old oversized POLICE t-shirt. She thrust it over her instead.

She tiptoed downstairs not wanting him to hear her approach. She wanted to watch him for a bit.

She could smell garlic, onion and chicken sizzling on the stove top. She watched his back as he tossed pasta in the strainer. The aroma was making her hungrier by the minute.

She was impressed. He really could cook. She leaned against the wall watching him work. Momentarily he sensed her there and turned around. He smiled at her. Shit, she looked sexier than ever with her hair still mussed up, and wearing his old black police shirt.

"Hey." he smiled.

"Hey." She mused crossing her arms in front of her. "I hope you don't mind." She motioned towards the shirt.

"McNally," he smirked at her. "What do you think?"

She smiled and helped herself to some sliced carrot, crunching down on it.

"It smells great in here."

"It is a very basic. I hope it doesn't disappoint."

He poked his head back in the fridge pulling out a chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio.

"Would you prefer a beer?" he asked with a smile.

She shook her head. "No, wine would be great." She said pulling up the stool in front of his breakfast counter.

The food was good, but she _wasn't _surprised. He had hinted that he knew how to cook more than reasonably well.

"I'm stuffed," she blurted out some time later, flopping down on the sofa.

He sat next to her his hand tangling with hers on the top of the sofa. He gently laced his fingers in and out of hers as they sat there quietly. She looked distant and thoughtful.

What was going on in that beautiful mind of hers now? He could see it working a million miles a minute.

Had today brought back harsh realities and memories to haunt her? Was she worried about Dov's transition through all of this? Did she really think it was better to expect the worst so as not to be disappointed?

Was she questioning her decision to be with him?

"I came here that night two years ago because I really needed you Sam." She said quietly as if continuing a conversation that was going on in her mind.

He stayed silent as he looked at her.

"Would it bother you if I said I might need you more now than I ever did then?" She continued softly, her eyes imploring his with a tenderness he had never seen in their depths before.

He didn't know if he was more shocked or surprised. She smiled and dropped her head to his shoulder resting her hand on his chest. His heart started to pump double time. The intensity of her words had done something to him.

He breathed in deeply, not daring to speak as his fingers started to comb through her hair.

Dammit. He knew she wanted more certainty from him. Yet his own fears kept him teetering on the edge of plunging wholeheartedly in.

Hell he didn't want this to end, but he was afraid if he held on too tight, it would all crumble around him, leaving him to build a world without her. He doubted he ever could do that properly, not after having her in his life like this.

"Andy… I…let's not overthink things okay." He managed while swallowing hard.

His arms came around her. She surprised him constantly with her admissions and fervour. He wished he could be as open and forthcoming as her about his feelings. He surprised himself with how much his feelings kept growing for her.

Andy squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered against him. She knew he was avoiding giving her one hundred percent assurances, because he couldn't. Because that was how Sam operated.

She had a fervent hope in her heart, but she couldn't say it out loud. Not yet.

It was simple really. She hoped more than anything in this world that no matter what life threw at them, they would somehow always find their way back to each other, just as they had up till now.


End file.
